Opinions on Tip Curtis gun?

[123.DieselBenz]

Howdy all!

I'm looking at this gun

And have a few questions/concerns . . .

From what I've read about Tip, he does decent work, have any of you any personal experience dealing with him or his guns?

This gun is "in the white" doesn't seam right to me that the metal is unfinished . . . is it OK?

How hard would it be to pull the barrel and brown it? Just the tang screw and pins?

Is there any benefit to leaving it "in the white"?

What do you think of this wood? Could it be Cherry? (Seller claims "maple") Or just a unique piece of maple?

Here is some of the gun:

It is pretty close to what I'm looking for, just worried about the "white", is it similar quality to TVM's?

 

[rabjr]

Nothing wrong with the unfinished metal and the gun being allowed to gain its own patina with time but if you wanted to you can take the barrel and lock off and brown it no problem. Not difficult at all to do that. Personally, I think its fine just the way it is. :thumbsup:

 

I would not have a problem grabbing one of Tip's guns. I would consider his quality, and especially the correctness of style above TVM,s, not they're that bad either. I would pick a Curtis over the TVM.

Bill

 

[gizamo]

Ditto... :thumbsup:

 

[BadHorse]

i have several guns with the barrels and lock in the white, i prefer them that way. as far as tip being as good a tvm, its more like tvm is trying to be like tip curtis. tip is the best of the best, unless you get in the league of the builders like hershel house and those guys. id rather have a gun or parts set from tip than jim chambers

this is mine, and shes no cheap rifle either!! i stripped the rust brown off my barrel and im letting it age naturally. i oil it ever time i clean it. i wish these pics were a taste better, because she looks way better in person

 

[Stumpkiller]

Nice looking gun. Tip Curtis is an upright guy.

I'm almost certain that's not cherry. The forestock looks maple and the rear mostly so.

 

[paulvallandigham]

By selling a gun " In the white" he is saving you money, and giving you the option of deciding what kind of metal finish you want. You can blue, brown, or rust blue/black the metal. Or as has been suggested you can let it slowly gain its own patina by oiling it, and leaving it to darken with age. I can't tell you how much money you save, because Tip would have to tell what he charges for a finished gun vs. an " In-the-white" gun. You can ask him. He's a very decent, and honorable man,who stands by the products he sells. He's been in the business for many years, now. That speaks well of him, and his reputation among customers. :hatsoff: :hatsoff: :hmm: :thumbsup: :wink:

 

[Capt. Jas.]

An in the white gun by today's terminology is a gun that is put together completely but has had NO work done as to finishes on wood and metal including carving, extra refining of lock panels, fore stock, etc., The metal has only been fitted. It needs more done to it than just putting a brown or blue on it.

That said, this gun DOES NOT appear to be an in the white gun. It appears to have it's wood finished and metal polished and final finished but left bright. This is a very good looking piece from the pictures and in my opinion would be ruined by browning the metal.The lock panel is done well according to the lock style, etc.
Looks good.

I would jump over a few TVMs to get that one.

 

[Tony Logan]

Tip Curtis :hatsoff:

 

[Dphar]

Its pretty nice piece of Maple.
The Lock and Trigger are good.
Rifle appears the be put together properly.

I would have the lock plate case hardened at least around the tumbler hole if you intend to shoot it a lot. Assuming its not hard now, all locks come soft from the maker.
This will make it more durable and faster.

Dan

 

[123.DieselBenz]

Thanks guys!

I should have written as the seller did ... He says that the lock and barrel is "in the white" and is "unfinished"

So with just regular oiling the barrel and lock will be fine? Leaving it "bright", is that a historical thing for a certian period?

I'm planning on calling Tip today ... It sounds like that with his reputation he would have hardened this Chambers Late Ketland lock, but it will be good to know!

I asked the seller, but maybe someone here can get me the answer before he gets back to me ... Or I ask Tip ... This gun has a GM C weight swamped 50 cal barrel 38" long ... Does it have round bottom grooves, or square?

 

[BadHorse]

Its pretty nice piece of Maple.
The Lock and Trigger are good.
Rifle appears the be put together properly.
Dan

thats the nicest thing you could say about tip curtis? the man has forgotten more about building these rifles than any one on this forum ever knew.

So with just regular oiling the barrel and lock will be fine? Leaving it "bright", is that a historical thing for a certian period?

back then there were three ways to have your gun finished, there was metal in the white like yours and my rifles. this was the most practical. you could have your metal with a vinegar finish, that cost .50 cents, or you could have them browned. that cost about $2.00! that was a lot of money back then, a rifle cost about $25.00. thats about a years wages for a farmer. the average person did not get a rifle with a browned barrel. HE COULDNT AFFORD IT! that $25 was for a base model, no carving, no engraving, metal in the white.

so to answer your question, your rifle is close to what "Joe Average" really would have had.

and yes with regular oiling (when you clean the rifle) it will be fine.

the groves are square in GM barrels

 

[123.DieselBenz]

If I got this rifle ... How would I go about oiling the bottom of the barrel?

Obviously, here in Az there is not a problem with rain, very much (we are in a drought!) so ... Would the regular oiling be mostly to remove fingerprints & fouling? How often should the barrel be removed, to be completely oiled?

I called Tip, I didn't have a real good connection ... I'm gonna call him back later ... I may just stop in there on my trip back from VT when I go up for thanksgiving and pick one up with a bit longer LOP ...

 

[Stumpkiller]

How would I go about oiling the bottom of the barrel?

You know those annoying 4" x 6" response cards that come stuck in magazines?

Thread one around the barrel, drip a good slosh of oil along the barrel where it touches and run it back and forth like drying your bums with a towel.

 

[Dave K]

Some may laugh at my non-pc way of protecting the bottom of the barrel on my 'in the white' guns. While the barrel is still in the stock. I mask off all the barrel metal above the wood. I do a real good job of masking right up to the wood on the barrel also. Then remove the barrel and with a good clear coat finish, I coat the bottom of the barrel. I am so paranoid of getting oils in the wood! I have had to rebuild so many guns where the previous owner thinks that if a little oil is good, allot of oil is much better and that can ruin a nice piece of wood. JMHO

 

[rich pierce]

Beeswax is a good way to protect the underside of the barrel. But our forefathers didn't seem to worry about these things as much as we do.

 

[tg]

I have used the same finish on the bottom of the barrel as I do on the stock (linseed oil/turp and marine spar varnish) and it worked well, I have also used beeswax thinned with turp, the barrel finish being natural, brown, or one of the blued methods would depend on the type of gun and time of manufacture if looking for a historical nudge, typicaly an unprotected barrel bottom will just get some minor rust blemished and will wool off with oil if one remnoves the barrel every year or so, that is what I found here in the Pacific NW, it was just not a big deal with an "in the white" barrel bottom, the top can be wiped ocasionaly with a lightly oiled rag and will,naturaly take on a patina just go easy on any gun oil getting on the wood a lot of it can soften the wood.I always finish the inside of the stocks as well to help keep any unwanted material from transfering from the barrel to the wood, should I decied to wipe the bottom of the barrel down lightly with oil.

 

[tg]

"back then there were three ways to have your gun finished"

The options varied to some extenet depending on when "back then" was in history, I was unaware of the use of vinigar in the past and a price for doing it that way both being on record.The basic incise line moulding carvings on the forestock and buttstock are though by most knowledgable gun students to have been pretty much a standard thing on guns of most any grade (except for some trade guns and even some of them had a bit ofd decoration it was just how things were done at the time, a bit of labor was not looked at like it is now on a project) in the 18th century unless this train of thought has changed recently

 

[roundball]

How would I go about oiling the bottom of the barrel?

A well noted rifle builder recommended I coat mine with something like RIG grease...so every time I pull my barrels for one reason or another, not only is their condition always known to me, but I also coat them with Lithium grease before reassembly.

 

[tg]

"tg you are unaware of a lot of things'

I never claimed anything other, providing the period reference for claims dealing with specific methods and pricing in such detail is usually a more accepted and helpfull method of response than amatureish snipes, but some are forced to work with what little they have in the way of providing anything valid and from a reliable period source to go towards any educational enlightenment and sharing KNOWN factual period sources from the past I guess, contemporary sources are another story in of themselves as we often see here, BTW I am at the worst mildly amused at attempts to insult me or one up me with shaky historical interpretations of things based on little if any serious research or any solid historical knowledge base.